Posts tagged with featured

If you’re already on the path to a fit and healthy lifestyle, you know the importance of proper nutrition. You know the effects that eating clean and whole foods can have on your appearance, energy levels, endurance and overall feeling of well-being. You do a good job of nurturing your body, but are you aware of the importance of nurturing your mind, too?

I’ve been waiting to write this post for a long time. Heck, you could say I did my Ph.D. on this post.

When we started work on Spire, our goal was to give people feedback about something that influenced life as much as – if not more than – fitness: their state of mind. Yes, like other activity trackers, Spire accurately tracks physical activity and fitness. But unlike other trackers, Spire records an additional metric: breathing patterns. This is because your breathing patterns both reflect and influence your state of mind.

And, as it turns out, it’s this additional metric, breathing, that has really caught people’s attention… and curiosity.

Why consider breathing?

How does breathing relate to state of mind?

What’s the science behind this?

Why consider breathing?

Many of us don’t consider how important our breath is. Yet, when you think about it, you probably have some experiential understanding of the role breath plays in your daily life.

Perhaps you’ve felt short of breath. During a math test, or an asthma attack.

Perhaps you’ve noticed how tranquil your breath can be. While out fishing in the early morning, or sitting by a campfire.

These are all real experiences that show the diverse repertoire of the breath. Imagine what it’s doing when you’re not paying attention. Imagine if you could notice your breath in these situations, and how this might change your day, your dinner, or your life.

How does breathing relate to state of mind?

When you feel stressed, your body’s ancient defense mechanisms are activated and becomes prepared for “fight or flight” – to run, to attack, or to do something that requires high physical activity. One thing that happens during this response is that your breathing becomes rapid and shallow.

In short doses, this can be useful. But this is email, not a lion attack! Imagine how many times during your day you feel tense or overwhelmed. Then, consider what it does to your breath.

So, what can you do about this? For one, you can transform your perception of stress from ‘threatening’ to ‘challenging’ – challenging you to perform at your best. Simply re-framing stress can change the way your body deals with it, though we don’t understand exactly how that happens or how to do it consistently.

In addition to changing your perception of stress, you can literally control it. But how can you affect your brain like that? Funny you should ask…

Unlike other physiological functions, the breath is under both autonomic and conscious control. This means the breath is not just ‘happening’ in the background – it’s a lever. Away in. The gas pedal and the brakes for your brain and body.

It’s important to know there is no “correct” way to breathe. Just like there’s no “correct” state of mind. Stress isn’t bad! It’s part of life and, let’s be honest, we often enjoy it! To an extent. Chronic stress is a problem because we often don’t even realize it’s happening. That isn’t just sad, it compromises our immune system because the body is so frequently kept vigilant.

What’s the science behind this?

Why do we have the phrase “take a deep breath” in so many languages? Why have scientists and poets been writing about the breath for thousands of years? Because the slow, calm, breath does three things:

First, it changes the carbon dioxide level in the bloodstream. This is important because the amygdala (the part of the brain responsible for emotions like fear) is very sensitive to carbon dioxide (detected as pH). When you take that deep breath, your blood becomes less acidic, assuring your amygdala that you are, indeed, not at threat of drowning and that all is well.

Second, it lengthens the exhale, lifting the gas pedal on the brain. During exhale, the gates blocking the vagus nerve, the longest cranial nerve, are lifted. This signifies to the brain that the coast is clear to “rest and digest.”

Finally, consciously taking a breath is the simplest action you can take to bring a wandering, anxious mind to the present moment. This is the key to understanding why concentration techniques start with focus on the breath.

We now see how the breath (1) reflects your state of mind and (2) influences it.

Now Is the Time

There is something even more valuable than our time, our attention. One minute of genuine, focused attention can be worth dozens of minutes of being distracted.

Today, more than ever, a healthy, focused, and balanced state of mind is paramount. It dictates how we work, the decisions we make, and even how we communicate. It helps us achieve goals in a world of distraction. Don’t let your life slip by. Get to know your breath, watch it change, then listen to what it brings up for you.

Stay Tuned for Updates

What would your life look like with less rushing, more space, and more balance? How would it change the way you eat, live, or love?

In future posts, I’ll be diving into the details about our breath and state of mind. Just a sampling of the topics I hope to cover, would be: the four components of each breath and what they tell us; why yoga refers to the breath so much; how breath relates to meditation… and to endurance and athletics, and even to communication and sex.

Spire launched a bit over 48 hours ago. We set out to sell 500 pre-orders within the first week. We hit 500 within the first few hours. So – with much excitement – we’ve re-calibrated to a stretch goal of 5k within the first two months. While friends, family, and our mailing list helped drive initial sales, there were two far larger drivers:

We’ve been fortunate to have great customers spreading the word about Spire – the team is blown by all of your support. Thank you all! Along with the coverage and pre-orders came a few questions. Let’s address them: 1) Why did we launch pre-orders on our own site, as opposed to a crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter? 2) What’s next for Spire? 3) Will there be Android support? 😉

Self-starter vs. Kickstarter

We quickly learned that Spire’s perspective on tracking was completely novel. In talking to users and influencers, we realized that if we spent enough time – say 20mins – explaining and demo’ing the product, people would fall in love with it. But 20 minutes is way too long in the internet age. We needed the freedom to experiment and iterate with how we tell our story. We also wanted to be able to add demonstrations of Spire in action. By launching on our own website we gave ourselves this opportunity.

The Road Ahead

We’ve got lots of stories, lots of data, and lots of ways that Spire helps make our lives better. Over the coming months, we’ll be telling those stories – showing what Spire’s technology, and what the science of breathing that lies behind Spire, can do. We’ll also be documenting our amazing and diverse team as they bring a complex product to market. From email apnea to manufacturing cork – stay tuned for some exciting insights and learnings.

Oh, Android.

We love open, so we are launching an open API for Day 0. We love choice, so we are building a device that encourage you to choose what being “healthy” means to you. And yes, many of us love Android. But, as a young company we need to stay focused, and that means making one amazing app on one platform. So, iOS it is. For now. When we’ve nailed iOS we will port it over to Android. Sincerely, Jonathan